Hay-press



R. H. TRESTED. Celluloid Hat and other Head Covering.

No. 224,745. Patented Feb. 17, 1880. 24 1. 2372.

f it egg/2 M i 7' W ".PETERs, PHOTO-LITHOERAPNER. WASHINGTON, D C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RICHARD H. TRESTED, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

CELLULOID HAT AND OTHER HEAD-COVERING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 224,745, dated February 1'7, 1880.

Application filed December 4, 1879 To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, RICHARD H.TRESTED, of New York, county of New York, State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Celluloid Hats and other Head- Coverings, which is fully set forth in the following specification and accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a face view of the brim of my improved collodion hat; Fig. 2, a side view of the body thereof; Fig.3, a top view of the crown thereof; Fig. 4, a side view of the same complete. Figs. 5 and 6 represent pieces of cotton cloth with layers of collodion, plain and embossed.

My discovery relates to that class of coverings for the head which are worn by men and women in summer-time and in warm climates as a cheap substitute for straw, possessing to a remarkable degree the essential lightness, and also a quality never before attained in imitation straw fabricsviz., that of being water-proof-and so free from liability to injury by water as to aiford the very desirable capacity of being cleaned by a damp cloth without harming either the structure itself or diminishing its novel and distinguishing qualities.

To this end my invention consists in the adaptation of collodion to head-coverings in either of two ways now to be described.

First. By taking a thin sheet of collodion of the desired color and cutting it into three shapes, as indicated in Figs. 1, 2, 3, repre senting, respectively, the brim, body, and crown of a hat. These pieces are then joined together by anysuitable adhesive substancedissolved collodion, by preference-in the form of a hat complete, after which it is subjected to the action of an embossing-die, by which it is stamped in imitation of straw braid and configured as may be desired. By heating the die the collodion will be found to yield readily to the pressure, and the engraving will emboss the collodion, so that a fac-simile of fine chip, leghorn, or other braid may be obtained. The collodion can-be cut from solid sheets of any desired thickness, as the embossing gives it strength and stiffness, so that it will hold its shape when made into a hat body.

Second. If the shape be very simple, the sheet of collodion may be stretched over a die such as is used in making buckram or cloth hat-frames, thereby obtaining the exact shape of hat-body required, when it is subjected to the action of an ordinary hydraulic or screw diepress, which embosses the surface in imitation of straw braid or such other material or figures as may be wanted.

These hats may be washed without destroying their shape, the collodion being waterproof.

I do not claim embossing or dissolved collodion, used as a paint, to be applied to textile hat-bodies, as I am aware that such a paint so applied has already been used.

What I do claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

A headcovering made of collodion, substantially in the manner and for the purposes set forth.

RICHARD H. TRESTED.

Witnesses:

S. J. GORDON, JOHN W. RIPLEY. 

